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Tuesday, 7 July 2009

The halal revolution - a food revolution that is impacting F&B producers and suppliers around the globe

There is a revolution going on — a food revolution that is, one that is impacting F&B producers and suppliers around the globe.

Halal foodstuffs are par for the course in the Middle East and in many other countries with a sizeable Muslim population.

But today, with globalisation, more consumers travelling and many more people choosing to live and work abroad, demand for halal products is growing exponentially.

Indeed, according to the Kuala Lumpur-based Halal Journal, the global halal food industry is currently worth around US $632 billion per year.

So is this the future — is halal going to continue to grow until it is no longer a regional practice but a standard requirement across the globe?

Taking the booming meat export market as an example, it certainly seems that way — as Country Hill International’s Hamish McKerrow points out.

“We’ve been exporting meat from Australia for 20 years and have had a really strong relationship with the Middle East for about five of those years,” he says.

“There’s been a dramatic rise in halal meat imports from Australia since 2003, when ‘Mad Cow Disease’ broke out in the US and lot of countries banned US meat. Australia and New Zealand then decided to fill the profile, became well-positioned in the halal market and have continued to grow as halal meat providers ever since.

“Today we’re seeing an increased demand for halal across the globe,” he adds.

Similarly Patricia Fuentes, trade assistant to the Embassy of Chile’s Trade Commission in Dubai, notes that the country’s exporters have seen a “marked increase in demand for high quality meat and poultry”.

Meanwhile Corry de Wit, managing director of the European office for the State of Georgia’s Department of Agriculture, says that the state’s exporters supply halal foodstuffs to countries around the world.

“We are seeing a tendency to more halal food products, in stores, restaurants and fast food chains,” she agrees. “And interestingly, we’re seeing this more and more in Europe.

“Today, consumers are more familiar with these products and the meaning of halal,” she continues.

“Plus the health aspect also plays a role for consumers — and halal regulations, which are pretty strict, appear to pay much attention to the standards of food products.”

Shangri-La Qaryat Al-Beri’s new executive chef Gary Robinson says there’s no doubt the halal market means big business for companies that can adapt.

“An awful lot of suppliers carry [halal products] now because the Muslim market is everywhere,” he asserts.

If you think about it, offering non-halal items limits a supplier’s market — and offering both non-halal and halal products means financing separate storage facilities, transport and so on.

“So making your whole operation halal is actually the most cost-efficient method of production. It would almost be easier if all suppliers did things that way,” he says.